Ypeople's Annual Golf Day

Fundraising back in fashion

Our third Y Ladies Lunch and Fashion Show, held at Glasgow’s Radisson hotel on June 23, was our biggest and best yet, raising almost £11,500 for the charity’s service users.

Ypeople delivers support services to a range of people including children, young people and families, asylum seekers and refugees and those whose lives have been affected by homelessness.

This year the fashion show featured glamorous gowns from Glasgow and Hamilton boutique, Eleganza Sposa’s evening wear collection.

In preparation for the event, five young residents from Branston Court visited Eleganza Sposa, where they tried on a selection of dresses and received advice on performing in public from Scottish singer and TV presenter Michelle McManus.

Laura Davidson, personal shopper for Top Shop, also spent a day with our five young residents helping to build their self confidence and find their individual style of clothing. The girls, Becci, Melissa, Danielle, Sarah and Isra joined Laura on the catwalk at the fashion show to model their choice of clothing. They were delighted when Laura announced that Top Shop were donating the clothes to them.

The event was sponsored by Taggarts Motor Group, one of the best known names in the Scottish motor trade. Established in 1896, the business now has two showrooms – Glasgow and Motherwell. The company donated a number of top prizes for the raffle, including the use of a Jaguar car for the weekend.

Debbie Fraser, fundraising manager for YPeople, said: “The Y Ladies Lunch and Fashion show is fast becoming a highlight of the social calendar for Glasgow women, who are known throughout the UK for their sense of style, as well as one of our most successful fundraising events.

“This year we were pleased to introduce a new dimension by involving some of our service users in the fashion show, providing them with an opportunity to build their confidence and learn new skills.

“I’d like to give special thanks to our new headline sponsor, Taggarts Motor Group, for their generous support. All of the funds we raised through ticket sales, raffle and the charity auction will go directly to Ypeople’s services, to continue to support some of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged members in our society.”

10th anniversary celebrations at Seaforth house

Our supported accommodation service Seaforth House, in Falkirk, celebrated its 10th anniversary on July 5.

The milestone was marked with an informal barbeque held at the service. Among the guests was Falkirk Provost Pat Reid, who unveiled the Seaforth House 10-year celebration ceramic plaque – a ceramic mosaic designed by the young residents and staff – and met with some of the young people who have benefited from the service over the past decade.

Seaforth House provides supported accommodation to people aged 16-25 whose lives have been affected by homelessness. Since the 14-bed centre was opened by Ypeople in 2002 it has assisted hundreds of young people, equipping them with the life skills necessary for living alone and helping them to move into their own accommodation.

Residents have also established their own award-winning Registered Tenants Organisation (RTO). The RTO is recognised by the Scottish Government, Falkirk Council and the Scottish Housing Regulator and meets once a month to allow all residents to express their views on every aspect of the running of Seaforth House.

A DVD produced by the group about the experience of becoming an RTO is now being used as a training and information tool supporting similar groups to set up their own tenant participation process.

Other prominent initiatives undertaken by Seaforth House service users include Speak Out, a film written and directed by residents which explores the complex issues faced by young people today, such as bullying, domestic violence, self harm and sexual abuse.

Earlier this year, the film was screened at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh.

Sheena McHugh, Team Leader at Seaforth House, said: “We have come a long way since the project was set up in 2002. One of our key achievements is that Seaforth House now has its very own Registered Tenants Organisation (RTO), allowing tenants to have a say over the policies that affect them.

“We’re also very proud of our film, Speak Out, which aims to encourage other adolescents to share their problems.

“People sometimes have the wrong idea about homeless young people, believing that they are on the streets for being disruptive but often it is because they have been exposed to factors such as violence and sexual abuse.

“I’m glad that our film Speak Out, and the success of our RTO, are challenging the negative image of homeless young people and showing what they can achieve.”

Ypeople service wins national award

We’re sure our supporters will be excited to hear that Ypeople has secured a prestigious national award in recognition of a comprehensive support service we provide for asylum seekers and their families.

In June we were awarded with a Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) Care Accolade for Ycommunity – a free-of-charge social and educational service provided to Glasgow’s asylum seeking community. Operating out of two properties in the north of the city, Ycommunity provides a space for asylum seekers to meet, socialise and obtain access to much needed support services, such as English classes, translators, computers and the internet.

The service also provides asylum seekers – who are not permitted to undertake paid employment - with key household and lifestyle items, such as food, clothes, games and books.

The SSSC Care Accolades celebrate the work that social service workers across Scotland undertake every day. The awards recognise the best social service projects, teams and organisations.

Ypeople’s Director of Operations, Maria Mackay, said: “It is a real achievement for us to receive this prestigious SSSC Care Accolade for our Ycommunity service.

“The service was established after we held a consultation with asylum seekers and their families in Glasgow which identified a real demand for this type of service. As with all of our support services, this project encourages self help and self determination and promotes health and wellbeing within a very vulnerable and under resourced group.

“This award is true recognition of all the hard work that Ypeople staff, service users and volunteers put into this extremely worthwhile project.”

Welcome to the second issue of Ypeople’s newsletter

As we welcome the return of summer, it is hard to believe we are already halfway through 2012. This is a big year for the UK. We have been celebrating the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the London Olympics are well underway.

It is also proving to be a big year for Ypeople. Recently, one of our projects won a prestigious national award, a Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) Care Accolade in the category Working with Communities, for its work with Glasgow’s asylum-seeking community.

The service, called Ycommunity, offers free-of-charge social and educational facilities to Glasgow’s asylum seeking community. The service also provides asylum seekers – who are not permitted to undertake paid employment - with key household and lifestyle items, such as food, clothes, games and books.

We are additionally celebrating the 10th anniversary of our supported accommodation service at Seaforth House, in Falkirk, which acts as a stepping stone for young homeless people seeking to move into their own homes.

The service marked its first decade with a new ceramic plaque, made by staff and service users; but its greatest legacy is the achievements of the hundreds of young people who have passed through its doors. In addition to making their own film, Speak Out, to encourage other adolescents to seek help for their problems, residents have also created their own Registered Tenants Organisation (RTO), allowing young people to have a say over the policies that affect them.

Ypeople’s ability to deliver successful projects is determined by the amount of money we raise. This year our fundraising team has gone the extra mile to introduce a number of new events, including a golf day at Gleddoch House Hotel & Golf Club on September 6 which will give golfers the chance to play each hole on this challenging course for one of our young people residing within our services across central Scotland. Other charity initiatives, such as our Y Ladies Lunch and Fashion show are fast becoming an institution in their own right. This year, the event raised £11,480, making it our most successful to date.

Of great concern to Ypeople at present is the plight of destitute asylum seekers in Glasgow. Our contract to house asylum seekers in the city will soon transfer to Serco Civil Government and their sub-contractors Orchard and Shipman. As previously stated, this means a number of asylum seekers whose application to remain in the UK has been refused will now have to move on as Serco will only accommodate those who are entitled to state support. We would like to acknowledge the assistance which officers in Glasgow City Council have given Ypeople as we attempt to address this situation.

We have offered to work with other relevant agencies in order to minimise the impact of the change and we remain open to engaging with a view to achieving positive outcomes for those involved.

Finally, we have exciting plans to expand our services for residents of our Branston Court supported accommodation facility in Glasgow’s Maryhill. Service users are currently learning how to grow their own food within their own community garden. Now they are to learn how to cook their produce, with lessons from a trained chef. Supported accommodation service users in Edinburgh will meanwhile attend a cookery demonstration later in the year by Michelin-starred chef Tom Kitchin.

In addition to encouraging our young residents to cook, we also hope these schemes will inspire their career choices.